


I was once like you are now, and I know that it's not easy

by flightinflame



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Charles Xavier has a Ph.D in Adorable, Charles Xavier in a Wheelchair, Families of Choice, Gen, Happy Ending, Hugs, Post-X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), dadneto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:09:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21634909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightinflame/pseuds/flightinflame
Summary: Peter knew he was a child of a mistake, a mutant, a murderer. A monster.He wanted to speak to his father. As he tried to find the words, he learned that family is a lot more than simply genetics.
Relationships: Erik Lehnsherr & Pietro Maximoff, Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier
Comments: 14
Kudos: 304
Collections: Secret Mutant Madness 2019





	I was once like you are now, and I know that it's not easy

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [KuhakuE](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KuhakuE/pseuds/KuhakuE) in the [secret_mutant_madness_2019](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/secret_mutant_madness_2019) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> Peter, who grew up without his father, has yet to bring himself to tell Magneto - Erik - about their relation. However, while he's living in the X-mansion, debating and hesitating, there is a man who becomes a father figure for him - Charles Xavier.
> 
> The rest is up to you.  
> Charles may know about Erik's fatherhood, or maybe he has no idea. Erik might have decided to stick around for a while. Fluffy, angsty, or combination, that's your choice.  
> Bonus: Cherik (a small or big part, however you'd like it), Dadneto revelation, Happy ending.

"It was a mistake." That was the first thing Peter could remember hearing about his father. That his very existence was a regret. For a long time, he hadn't been sure what that meant, what kind of man his father was He had nightmares, and the children at school would laugh at him until he ran away. He put those fears aside, and he tried to ignore it.

"He could control metal. You must have got _that_ from him." His mother hadn't been unkind when she'd said that. She was trying to stop him feeling like he was the only one in the world with strange 'gifts'. It wasn't a comfort.

"He was a criminal." She'd said once, when she was drunk, and he'd thought she meant that his father stole, like he did. It was only far later that he discovered the truth of it, how his father had killed someone his mother knew - a European uncle. He seemed to have slept with his mother to get into the house, and that was it. That was what he knew. 

He was a child of a mistake, a mutant, a murderer. A monster.

Given that start in life, what fucking chance did he have.

***

Things changed, when he rescued the man from the Pentagon. And they changed later, as he finally put two and two together, and wondered how he could ever have been so slow. But then he was gone, and he knew what the man had done. He wasn't just a murderer, he was a terrorist. And now he understood, why his mother had always tried to keep it quiet. To spare him this pain. To treat him like a normal child, rather than one that had been born from a monster. 

But he had to speak to him. He had to understand - and then there was Cairo, and the world narrowed to a spin of metal and the burning agony of his shattered leg, and things changed. 

And then they were healing, and his cast was full of names, and in his entire life was changing. He decided to stay, at least as he healed up, to be around his own kind, and try to work out what happened next. He knew he should tell him. But that man was still a terrorist, still a monster, and even though he smiled and was kind it wasn't enough. He couldn't trust it. 

Peter accepted he had two options. He didn't have a father, and the children who had laughed at him as a boy were right. Or he was the child of a terrorist. For now, Magneto...Lehnsherr...Erik... didn't know. But he couldn't stay ignorant forever. One day he'd work it out, and then Peter didn't know what he'd do. Peter could tell him, but the thought made the words clog his throat, thick with terror and fear. 

The thing was, he'd decided to stay, to be near his biological father and plan out his next steps, and he'd that it wasn't Erik who had an influence on him - it was Charles. Charles who smiled like sunshine, and was always kind, and always cared. Who taught the younger mutants how to control their powers, and always had time for people who were upset.

Peter didn't have a father. He'd always told himself that. And his first impression of Charles had not been good. But now... well, he liked spending time with him. Charles never made him feel stupid, or judged him as ignorant because he hadn't paid attention at school. He just saw it as Peter having a chance to learn now. And that was exciting, that gave Peter a sense of being worth something rather than merely being a juvenile delinquent.

Peter wasn't stupid. He knew that Charles cared about all of the students at the school, that Peter wasn't special. But when Charles wheeled up beside him (normally with one mutant child or another holding onto his wheels) and asked him how he was - it felt good. It felt like he mattered.

"Something's bothering you, Peter," Charles said, with the certainty that only a telepath would manage. "Whatever it is, if you let me know, I will try and help. But I won't pry."

"Thank you." Peter said quickly. He hesitated. He didn't know what to say.

"You and...Magneto. Seem close." There were rumors that flew around the mansion, and he wasn't sure if they were right, but he had to ask.

"Erik is... a very dear friend." Charles answered, sitting up a little straighter, and looking Peter in the eye. "And yes, we are lovers."

"Oh." Peter muttered, quickly pushing aside his first concern (the fact they were both men), and the second (the wheelchair) to focus on the third - That Erik had been married to a woman, and had a daughter, who was now dead.

"I know," Charles said softly. "And he loved his little girl, and his wife. But... we love each other. People can love a lot of people, in a lot of ways. Is it Kurt that's concerning you? I've seen the way the two of you get along, and you really do seem well suited for each other-"

"No!" Peter protested. "I just..." He hesitated, and looked at Charles. "I need your help because he's..." Peter considered rushing away but he made himself say it."He'smyfather."

It was Charles's turn to look at him blankly for a moment, before slowly he nodded.  
"You're sure?"

"My mum said she slept with a Nazi-killing metal manipulator, and she always watched the news stories he was in pretty closely. So yeah, I'm sure."

Charles hesitated, and Peter felt the brush of his telepathy against the edge of his mind. He could say no. But he needed that help.  
_Please, I don't know what to do, what to say, what if he hates me?_

Charles reached out, his hand squeezing Peter's own.  
"I don't think he will. In fact... I think he'll be excited. He's been trying to decide if he stays. And I think knowing he has a family... It would comfort him, more than you know. But... it has to be your choice."

"And... if he hates me, do I have to leave?"

"Goodness." Charles sighed, looking at him. "Have I ever given any of you children a reason to believe your stay is conditional on anything?"

Peter shook his head.  
"Will you be there?"

"Of course." Charles nodded. "And you take as long as you need. I won't rush you to tell him. Just say when you are ready."

That was that. Peter just had to find the right time.

***

It was harder than you would expect, to find the right time to tell an ex-terrorist that you were his son. But Peter kept an eye out. He decided that in battle was a bad time, and so was the danger room, and so was breakfast and other communal meals. 

Eventually, he found the time. He walked in on Erik and Charles sat in the library playing chess.

Thankfully, for once this was not a euphemism. They were actually playing chess, with an actual chessboard, and everyone was dressed.

He cleared his throat, looked at Charles, and when he received a nod he blurted it out.  
"I'm your son."

"Charles?" Erik asked, frowning, and Peter flinched, turning towards him. "No. Not him. I mean. I'm your son. Erik. Um. My mother was Elizabeth Maximoff."

He saw the realisation dawn in Erik's eyes, and the other man looked at him slowly, and then nodded.  
"You're my son."

"I am."

"Have... I didn't know." He muttered, then cleared his throat. "Alright." He held out his hand, sitting up straighter. "It's good to meet you."

"You already know me." Peter muttered, but he leaned in to shake his hand. "It's... it's good to meet...meet you too."

Erik - his father - looked up at him, and then stood up.  
"Would... Would I be allowed to hug you?"

Peter thought of all the times he'd been angry with the unknown man who had caused his existence, who he had wanted to scream at, to make regret what had happened. He looked at this man, who had caused so much pain, and heartache. And he looked past him, to Charles, who Erik loved. Who always saw the best in everyone. 

He licked his lips, swallowed, and then nodded.  
"You can hug me."

The arms around him were warm, and that warmth burrowed into him, leaving behind a spark of hope.


End file.
